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Taking action reminiscent of fictional guards, Denmark's foreign affairs department has created a night watch team—far from guarding against fantasy foes, but to monitor the US president while Copenhagen sleeps.

The night watch starts at 5pm local time each day and concludes with a summary produced at 7am, which is then distributed throughout the Danish government and relevant offices detailing statements made and developments that occurred.

This position is understood to have been introduced in the wake of the bilateral dispute between Denmark and Washington over Greenland earlier this year, when the US president suggested taking control of the resource-rich territory.

Analysts point out that this initiative is one of multiple instances of how Denmark's foreign policy and its civil service have had to adjust to the new reality of the Trump's current term.

An insider familiar with the ministry remarked, “It is fair to say that the circumstances in the region and the time difference separating Copenhagen and the US was quite an important reason prompting this system in the spring.”

Instead of everybody needing to immediately reach for their phones to stay informed on updates from the US, the foreign office said it had made a coordinated approach to stay updated on the president's activities.

Jacob Kaarsbo, a ex- chief analyst at the Danish defence intelligence agency, commented that this move demonstrated, “as we have always known,” that the idea of the United States as Denmark's largest and most important ally was no longer valid. “Partnerships are built on common values and a common threat perception,” he added. “Trump shares neither of those with us and it can be said he doesn't share it with most Europeans.”